House refuses to consider Sandy aid

Elected officials from the New York area erupted with outrage on Wednesday after the House refused to take up a federal aid package for states that suffered damages from Hurricane Sandy, and even local Republicans blasted their Congressional leaders for their inaction.

“I’m saying right now, anyone from New York or New Jersey who contributes one penny to Congressional Republicans is out of their minds,” Representative Peter T. King, a Long Island Republican, said during an interview on CNN on Wednesday morning. “Because what they did last night was put a knife in the back of New Yorkers and New Jerseyans. It was an absolute disgrace.”

Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, a Republican, furiously accused the Congressional leadership of his own party of “duplicity” and “selfishness,” and called the decision not to hold a vote on the storm-relief measure “irresponsible.” He said the legislation had fallen victim to “palace intrigue,” and “it’s why the American people hate Congress.”

And Representative Michael G. Grimm, a Republican from Staten Island, said the failure to vote was a “betrayal.” He urged that action be taken as soon as possible.

“It’s not about politics,” Mr. Grimm said. “It’s about human lives.”

Last week, the Senate adopted a $60.4 billion aid package, and on Wednesday Mr. King and other local politicians said they had been promised that the House would bring it up for a vote before the current legislative session ends on Thursday.

That is unlikely now, and the aid bill will have to be reintroduced in the new Congress and passed by both chambers.

Brendan Buck, a spokesman for Speaker John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio, said the speaker would be meeting with Republicans from the New York and New Jersey delegations midafternoon Wednesday. He planned to tell them that passing the aid bill would be his “top priority” when Congress began its new session, Mr. Buck said.

President Obama issued a statement on Wednesday calling for an immediate vote.

“When tragedy strikes, Americans come together to support those in need,” he said. “I urge Republicans in the House of Representatives to do the same, bring this important request to a vote today, and pass it without delay for our fellow Americans.”

Mr. Christie and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, a Democrat, released a joint statement condemning the decision not to vote on the storm aid bill this week.

“With all that New York and New Jersey and our millions of residents and small businesses have suffered and endured, this continued inaction and indifference by the House of Representatives is inexcusable,” they said, adding, “This failure to come to the aid of Americans following a severe and devastating natural disaster is unprecedented.”

Mr. Cuomo, talking with reporters in Albany, went further. He said that House Republicans had “reneged on their word” to vote on the hurricane relief measure this week, and he accused them of “dereliction of duty.”

But Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, a political independent, said that although he was “disappointed,” he would not criticize the Republican leadership. He told reporters in New York City that he had been talking with Mr. Boehner and that “he assured me that this would be considered in the month of January.”

The bill was apparently delayed by its bad timing. It was eclipsed by negotiations between Democrats and Republicans over a plan intended to avert a series of tax increases and spending cuts that automatically took effect in the new year.

Senator Roy Blunt, Republican of Missouri, suggested that the aid request was harmed by its size.

“Sometimes when you ask for too much, you don’t get anything,” Mr. Blunt told CNN.

As word spread that the House would not bring up the bill for a vote late Tuesday night, lawmakers from both parties who represent people in some of the hardest-hit areas began to speak out.

“Denying emergency aid” to the storm’s victims “is a new low for House Republicans,” said Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, Democrat of New Jersey. “When our neighbors in other states are knocked down by emergency events, we put partisan politics aside and extend a helping hand to help them get back up. Helping struggling families recover from disasters has never been a partisan issue in Washington and it never should be.

“New Jersey and New York families have been hurt badly by Sandy, and it is shameful that Washington Republicans are adding to their pain by standing in the way of their recovery.”

Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, blamed Mr. Boehner. The senator said the speaker’s “failure to allow a vote on Sandy bill is a disgrace.”

Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, issued a blistering statement on Wednesday, calling the inaction “indefensible and shameful.” She called on Mr. Boehner to visit damaged neighborhoods on Staten Island and in the Rockaways, but said, “I doubt he has the dignity nor the guts to do it.”

“Speaker Boehner should call his members back for an up-or-down vote today and allow them to vote their consciences,” she said. “Anything less is an insult to New York.”

The proposed $60.4 billion aid bill would cover an assortment of pressing needs. It includes money to help homeowners and small-business owners rebuild from the storm; to repair bridges, tunnels and transportation systems; to reimburse local governments for overtime costs of police, fire and other emergency services; and to replenish shorelines.

The bill that passed in the Senate included $11 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund and $11.7 billion to help pay for repairs to New York’s subways and for other mass transit damages from the storm and to help protect the systems from future storms.

There was also $17 billion for community development block grants, mainly targeted to helping homeowners repair or replace their homes.

The bill also provided billion of dollars for the federal government’s flood insurance program and for the Army Corps of Engineers.

That package would fall far short of the $82 billion that governors from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have said is needed to continue cleaning up and rebuilding after the storm.

But leaders from the region nonetheless embraced it as a good start that would enable local governments, businesses, homeowners and others hurt by the storm to undertake rebuilding projects with the confidence that federal aid was on the way.

Last modified: January 2, 2013
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